The Sixth Ecumenical Council was convened in the city of Constantinople under Emperor Constantine the Perpetrator, at which council 170 bishops attended.
The council was convened against the false doctrine of the heretics - Monothelites, who, although they recognized two natures in Jesus Christ - Divine and human, claimed the existence of only the Divine will.
After the Fifth Ecumenical Council, the unrest incited by Monothelites continued and threatened the entire Byzantine Empire with great danger. Emperor Heraclius, desiring reconciliation, decided to persuade the Orthodox to yield to the Monothelites and, by the power of his authority, ordered that one will be recognized in Jesus Christ in both natures.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem Sophronius and the Monk Maximus the Confessor of Constantinople appeared as defenders and expounders of the true teaching of the Church, whose tongue was cut out and his hand was cut off for his steadfastness in faith.
The Sixth Ecumenical Council condemned and rejected the heresy of the Monothelites and determined that two natures should be recognized in Jesus Christ - Divine and human, and according to these two natures - two wills, but in such a way that the human will in Christ is not opposed, but is obedient to His Divine will.
It is noteworthy that at this Council, along with other heretics, the Roman Pope Honorius, who recognized the doctrine of one will, was excommunicated...
The Council's decree was also signed by the Roman delegates - the presbyters Theodore and George and the deacon John. This clearly shows that the supreme authority in the Church belongs to the Ecumenical Council, and not to the Pope of Rome.
After 11 years, the Council again began meetings in the royal palaces, called the Trupsky, in order to resolve issues related primarily to church deanery (good governance).
In this respect, it seemed to supplement the Fifth and Sixth Ecumenical Councils, which is why it is called the Five-Sixth.
The Council established rules by which the Church should be governed, namely: 85 rules of the holy apostles, rules of the six ecumenical and seven local councils, and the rules of 13 fathers of the Church. These rules were subsequently supplemented by the Seventh Ecumenical Council and two more local councils, which composed the so-called “Nomocanon”, or in Russian, “Kormchaya Kniga”, which is the basis of the church government of the Orthodox Church.
At this Council, some innovations in the Roman Church were condemned, inconsistent with the spirit of the decrees of the Universal Church, namely: the forced celibacy of priests and deacons, strict fasts on the Saturdays of Lent.
We recall that in the summer of 680, the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV the Persecuted (668-685) undertook a campaign against the Bulgarians. The defeat of the Byzantines ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty in the summer of 681 in Constantinople, through which Asparuhova Bulgaria was recognized by Byzantium. With this document, Byzantium ceded to Bulgaria the region of Lower Moesia up to the Iskar River, but without the city of Odessos and the surrounding coast.
This was actually formal, since Byzantine authority over these lands was virtually absent due to the continuous barbarian invasions and permanent waves of Slavic settlers. At the same time, Bulgaria agreed to cease raids beyond the Balkan Mountains. Trade relations between the two countries were also settled. After making peace with Constantine IV Pogonat,
Asparuh did not trouble Byzantium until 686, when Pogonat died of dysentery.
In 681, the First Bulgarian State was founded, which reached its peak in development at the beginning of the 10th century and exerted a great influence on the Eastern European peoples through its literary schools and literature.